Age-related macular degeneration after retinal detachment surgery

We studied a group of 157 patients who had retinal detachment surgery in one eye with successful anatomical reattachment and a fellow eye without a retinal detachment. In a group of 7 out of 8 patients who had a retinal detachment that included the macula and who underwent surgery, we found that the development of macular degenerative changes was much less pronounced in the operated eye than in the fellow, control eye. In a group of 3 patients who had retinal detachment without macular involvement, the appearance of macular degenerative changes appeared to be rather symmetric in the operated and in the fellow eye. The presence of a circling buckle did not appear to have an influence on the ARMD changes. It appears that the presence of a macular detachment is a factor in modifying the natural history of age-related macular degeneration. The diminution of signs of ARMD could be related to a degree of atrophy in the retinal pigment epithelium occurring after a retinal detachment with the macula off.